THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a significant move to address the growing concerns and complaints regarding the poor upkeep of public restrooms, the state government has launched a comprehensive survey and geospatial mapping of such facilities across the state.
The Suchitwa Mission has teamed up with WASH (Water Sanitation and Hygiene Institute) – a registered non-profit organisation working in the sector – to assess the status of public toilets in urban areas across the state in terms of infrastructure, service delivery, operation and maintenance, aesthetics and hygiene, and financial sustainability. The project aims to nurture a positive public toilet culture in the state.
The initiative aims at ensuring the availability of one 3-star toilet facility every five kilometres in urban areas and one 3-star toilet facility every 10km along major transport corridors in the state.
A Suchitwa Mission official told TNIE that the survey is progressing fast and has already been completed in seven districts. To assess the public toilets, WASH has developed an extensive survey tool.
The survey, in the initial phase, will cover around 1,200 public restrooms in urban areas, the official said. “Public toilets should be accessible, especially to women and children. Poor location, inappropriate design and inadequate maintenance are the main constraints. Also, the toilets are not spread across, and in many cities, the facilities are concentrated in some locations while restrooms are absent in many other locations. We launched take-a-break facilities, high-quality toilets across the state but many of them have failed to serve its purpose because of various reasons. Through this initiative, we plan to improve the standard of the existing toilets,” the official said.
The survey is expected to help officials come up with a comprehensive strategy to improve public toilet facilities, sanitation, operation and maintenance, promote public transit use and support tourism.
“A survey tool is being used to rate public restrooms on a scale of 1 to 5, and we have come across toilets with zero ratings. There are well-maintained ones too. This survey will help local bodies plan such projects in such a way that public restrooms are more accessible and useful,” the official added.
According to official sources, the survey will be completed by the first week of October.
Project objectives
Map all toilet infrastructure geospatially
Assess and rate the quality of existing public toilet infrastructure, service delivery, and operation and maintenance on a five star composite rating scale.
Make available information related to public toilet infrastructure to urban local bodies and citizens via report cards.
Introduce a public feedback system for public toilet infrastructure
Four parameters for rating
Infrastructure contributes 40% of the total score. Building integrity, availability of infrastructure for various needs, accessibility of such infrastructure for various physical disabilities are the aspects
Environment contributes to 20% of the score. It assesses the facility based on the locational safety features (external and internal lighting, vandalism, CCTV monitoring), grey water management
Hygiene/cleanliness contributes to 35% of the score.
Aesthetics contributes to 5% of the score. It deals with aspects such as landscaping and other non-structural features